My dad loved football, and my mom boxing.
I enjoyed neither, preferring a life devoted toX-Mencomic books and Little Debbie snack cakes.
My mom was a little older than Foreman at the time, and she relished an old dogs victory.
The grill was so good, he put his name on it.Anthony Harvey/Getty Images
I dont remember buying it, but I did it for George.
The American dream is buying a set of steak knives on an installment plan at three in the morning.
And Foreman was a natural at the job.
Im surprised I didnt buy two (one for my bedside night table).
George Foreman is the only salesman I was ever happy to make a little richer.
He was so warm and adorable.
How could I not buy a grill from Bloodsport Granddad?
I found Foreman relatable.
He packed on weight for his comeback, weighing in at 250.
But by then he was a changed man, too.
It wasnt just bulk.
Foreman had mellowed, matured, and found spirituality.
Out of the ring, he was gentle.
The Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine has sold over 100 million units.
The company that produces it, Spectrum Brands, couldnt have found a better celebrity to partner with.
I will always remember Foreman, who died last Friday at 76, as a two-time heavyweight champ.
And Foremans Little Grill That Could made him even richer than he already was as a heavyweight champion.
He cashed out with his partners in 1999, selling the business for approximately $137.5 million.
Now thats a knockout.
DOES IT MATTER THAT FOREMAN had little to do with the development of his namesake contraption?
A grill that an average person could use.
Part of the charm of the George Foreman Grill was its simplicity.
There was no on or off button, for instance.
And how hot was the grill?
No one knows for sure.
Hotter than the surface of the sun?
Its a miracle the grill plates didnt melt the plastic rig.
I do not know who invented the special plastic fork/spatula (forkula?)
The George Foreman Grill is a monument to no-frills industrial design.
(Nor hot dogs.
I ate a lot of grilled hot dogs.)
The 1990s saw an influx of fat-free foods, from cheeses to yogurt, cookies, and frozen dinners.
Foreman was at the forefront of this trend, promising food that was juicy but not greasy.
Fat was the enemy, a civilizational problem, and only George Foreman had the solution.
The infomercials sold convenience and health with a little fear-mongering about fat.
She was there to offer expertise and warn consumers about the perils of grease and fat.
The grill could handle any protein, but I was living through Peak Chicken Breast.
The chicken breast is the plain oatmeal of the affordable protein world.
You dont need a George Foreman Lean Machine Fat-Reducing Machine to cook a chicken breast, but its fun.
The fat, you see, dribbles down the grill into a special tray.
There was a two-to-three-week period where I ate chicken breasts like it was my religion.
For instance, I gave up sugar cereals for a time.
There was a popular diet based on consuming nothing but cabbage soup in the Nineties.
Forgive me.).
I think I made two grilled cheeses with that thing before a girlfriend threw it away.
